REFERENCES The New Catholic Encyclopedia states. " The early Church had no tithing system. The tithes of the Old Testament were regarded as abrogated by the law of Christ. It was not that no need of supporting the Church exist or was recognized, but rather that other means appeared to suffice. Irenaeus and Origen spoke rather disparagingly of the institution of tithes as though there were something mean in it and unworthy of the generosity of Christians. But as the Church expanded and its material needs grew more numerous and complete, it became necessary to adopt a definite rule to which people could be held either by a sense of moral obligation or by a precept of positive law." "Page 174" "The scrupulosity of the Pharisees in paying tithes [Mt 23:23; Lk 11:42] often let to vain boasting [Lk 18:12]. No law of tithing is found in the N.T. although the principle of Church support is laid down in Mt 10:10 [see also Lk 10:7] and echoed in I Cor. 9:13-14." "PAGE 175"------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ The Collier's Encyclopedia states. "Gradually the tithes in kind have been chanced to cash payments, although tithe barns exist to the present day. In the Church of England, tithes were abolished entirelyin 1940 by Act of Parliament." "PAGE 49" "TITHE [taith] {O.E. teotha, a tenth}, generally defined as the tenth part of fruits and profits justly acquired, owed to God in recognition of his supreme dominion, and paid to the ministers of region. It is an institution of undetermined antiquity, common to be the Israelitic and many pagan religions. Adopted in principle by the Christian Church from apostolic times, and subjected eventually to formal legislation {Synods of Tours, 567, and Macon, 585}, the institution was later enforced by the civil authority {late eight century Capitularies of Charlemagne}, recognized in pre-Norman England and sanctioned by English statute law {Westminster,1285}. It has continued in modern times in the established Church of England and the Roman Catholic Church-notably in Austria and Hungary-but elsewhere has been generally replaced by other systems of voluntary support of the clergy." "PAGE 335" ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Britanica's Encyclopedia states. "During the 16-th-century Protestant Reformation, Martin Luther approved in general of paying tithes to the temporal sovereign, and the imposition of tithes continued for the benefit of Protestant as well as Roman Catholic churches. Gradually, however, opposition grew. Tithes were repealed in France during the Revolution [1789], without compensation to the tithe holders. Other countries abolished certain kinds of tithes and indemnified the holders. By 1887 the tithe had been brought to an end in Italy. It was abolished in Ireland at the disestablishment of the Asglican Church in 1871, and its gradually died out in the Church of

Scotland. In England in 1836, the tithe was commuted for a rent charge depending on the price of grain, and in 1936, the tithe rent charges were abolished." "PAGE 802" "The Eastern Orthodox churches never accepted the idea of tithes, and Orthodox Church members have never paid them." "PAGE 803"----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Encyclopedia Americana Deluxe Library Edition states. "In the early 1830's, Irish tenants became to attack the hated tithe system. Their refusal to pay the tithes due to an "alien" church provoked fierce clashes with police and military. The government first tried to discourage agrarian crime by summary justice and then granted token concession. Intense agitation finally forced the Whip ministry to concede the tithe act of 1838, which converted 75% of the original tithe into a fied rent- charge paid by the landlord. Although the tenantry still had to pay the charge in the form of rent, the measure at least eliminated the dreaded tithe proctors. O'Connell did not allow a tactical alliance with the Whips to blunt his new campaign for repeal of the Union. Against a background of Chartist demonstrations and attacks on the corn laws in England," "PAGE 414" "TITHE, tith, the tenth part of product or other income, paid voluntarily or under the compulsion of law for the benefit of religious institutions, the support of priests and pastors, and the relief of those in need. In western lands tithing is probably derived from the Mosaic prescription of paying tithes for the support of the Levities and the temple service [Numbers 18:21]. It was not practiced in the early Christian church but gradually became common by the 6th century. The Council of Tours in 567 and the second Council of Macon in 585 advocated tithing. Tithes were made obligatory by civil law in the Carolinian empire in 765 and in England in the 10th century. Because of different local circumstances tithes developed in various ways. There were secular and ecclesiastical tithes and personal and real tithes-that is, tithes on income from personal trade, profession, or property. Praedial tithes were tithes on fruits of the soil. Great and small tithes were based on the value of the crops or animals taxed. It became common to substitute a money payment for payment in goods. Abuses became common, particularly when the right to collect tithes was often given or sold to laymen. Beginning with Pope Gregory VII this practice was declared illegal. Many laymen then presented their tithing rights to monasteries and cathedral chapters. The Reformation did not abolished tithing, and the practice was continued in the Roman Catholic Church and in Protestant countries. Tithing was abolished in France during the French Revolution [1789] and in other countries was gradually replaced by other forms of taxation. The Roman Catholic Church still prescribes tithes in countries where they are sanctioned by law, and some Protestant Is TITHING for Today

bodies consider tithes obligatory. Most religious bodies have abandoned the practice, particularly in the United states, where no system of tithing was ever generally employed after the American Revolution." "PAGE 788"------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ The International Encyclopedia of the Social Science states. "The teachings of Jesus with regard to giving, which have had great influence in determining philanthropic attitudes down to the present day in the Western word, can also be traced to earlier religious attitudes toward charity. In particular, Jesus' teaching that the spirit of the giver is more important than the size of the gift, and that it is more blessed to give than to receive, emphasized the virtues of unselfishness and giving as a personal sacrifice." "PAGE 73"-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The New Standard Encyclopedia states. "The tithe was formerly a compulsory payment under law in many Christian countries, but today is generally voluntary. The Mormon church, however, requires tithing of its members. The custom of giving a fixed proportion of the year's crows to deity was widespread among ancient peoples. Some believed that the god would withhold his blessings if he were denied his shade of the produce. Others gave in thanks rather than in fear." "PAGE T-285"-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Harper's Bible Dictionary stases. "Tithing was very common throughout the ancient Near East, especially in Mesopotamia where Neo-Babylonian tests from the sixth century B.C. discuss the collection of the tithes as a means of supporting a sanctuary. Other documents indicate that tithing could serve nonsacral purposes as well. Fourteen-century B.C. tablets from Ugarit portray the tithe as a royal tax the king collected and distributed to his officials. The Seleucid kings of Syria likewise viewed the tithe as a source for royal income [I Macc. 10:31; 11:35], whereas Jews at that time viewed it as a sacral tax [ Macc. 3:49]." "PAGE 1078" "The zeal of some who tithed even their spices was noted by Jesus, who criticitized such people for also neglecting more important religious and ethical demands [Matt, 23:23]. " "PAGE 1079"---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Westminster Dictionary of Church History Edited by Jerald C. Brauer states. "Although this primitive ecclesiastical tithe disappeared in the Christian East, it became well established in the West that tithes must be paid regularly into the hands of the clergy so that they would have the wherewithal to perform the corporal works of the mercy in the name of the Christian community." "PAGE 824"

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------The Tithing Fallacy by Ernest L. Martin states. "It is clear that any church organization that

deserves support-either locally, nationally and internationally - should be furnished with the necessary funds to operate. There are many organizations that meet the proper Christian standards. But the Bible says that God is not interested in people giving a certain percent. He wants cheerful and thankful gives who have their hearts in his activities."

"PAGE 37"------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ The Rise of Modern Europe - The Counter Reformation 1559- 1610 by Marvin R. O'Connell states. "Tenure, for example, was relatively secure for a peasant in Catalonia; his Castilian counterpart, on the other hand, could count on no such security, and his tenancy was in any case so expensive, so burdened with debt and ecclesiastical tithes, that he often had to sell his produce at low prices well before harvest time. He likely considered himself not much better off than the laborer who worked on a vast latifundium owned by a nobleman or a monastery. England, too, at this moment when the sands in the manorial glass were running out, presented many faces of rural organization." "PAGE 14" "Perhaps the most basic reason why the commercialization of agriculture proceeded so slowly was simple inertia. If, for example, upwards of 15 million tons of grain were consumed each year by the peoples of the Mediterranean basin, with a market value a hundred times that of the American sliver received annually in Seville, one can appreciate how completely agriculture, with its deep medieval roots, still dominated the economic life of Europe. And if, of that grain total, half were consumed on the spot where it was grown and another 10 to 20 percent were collected in kind for rent payments, tithes, and interest charges that left a relatively small proportion to the dynamics of the marketplace." "PAGE 16"----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Thank you

Roy can't leave this website. I think that he thinks he is doing us a great service by expounding his beliefs and interpretations in the hope that some of us will "see the light" and convert to his way of thinking. My main concern is that weaker or newer members to the faith and to this site, especially those coming from evangelical backgrounds where anything goes, will get sucked into his babble. In another thread he quotes the Essene Gospel . Go figure. Anyway, on the flip side, if Roy does stop posting on this site I'll miss all of the cogent rebuffs given by my other Orthodox brothers and sisters. Yet, appeals to him seem worthless. It's like talking to an alcoholic who does not seem to think that he has a drinking problem.

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Save us o' Son of God, who art risen from the dead, as we sing to thee Alleluia!